I'm looking to purchase a new rifle in the near future for shooting groundhog, coyote and such. I would like to hear opinions on caliber and rifles if you guys care to share your opinions with a new to guns guy lol.

I started with the 223. Great all around for Yotes and Dogs. Then went to 22-250 another great one for both. Finally i went to a 243. They are all devistating to Yotes and Dogs. All depends on your needs and wants. Next now i am telling the wife i need a 25-06 for Yote and Doges. Not sure what excuss i am going to tell her for the 7mm-08

Really it comes down to what you want. All 3 are great for both. If not reloading i would go with the 223 for cost sakes. If reloading then any one.
All 3 are very accurate rifles. The scope is what you need to look at. For Yotes you don't need to much,but to take a Dog at 400 or more yards you will need some power in your scope.

The .243 Winchester is the do it all varmint up to medium game (black bear, hogs and deer) caliber. I highly recommend it, although I mostly hunt with my .30-06 just because I love the rifle. I would not lose much in the way of ability or confidence if I had to step down to the 'mini magnum'. It shoots flat, and lightly recoils even in light 'mountain' guns with short barrels.

I concur with the above calibers. I chose a 243 for my vermin gun. I will get a 223 soon as I can talk the wife into it. I recommend a bolt action. Most makes are accurate and dependable. A few to look at: Ruger M77, Remington 700, Remington 7, (youth size) Weatherby Vanguard and Howa, Winchester 70. Lots of other choices but these are the ones I have experience with.

__________________
You can't fix stupid....however ignorance can be cured through education!

I mainly shoot gophers and yotes with my AR (.223), .22-250, or .308. I have used every gun in my cabinet including my .50 caliber cap and ball muzzle loader to take down a few whistle pigs.
Really it depends on how long your shots are going to be and whether or not you intend to shoot a lot (cost of ammo and such).

__________________
"Worthy is Freedom to only those who are prepared to stand behind their rifles and fight for their rights"
-Robert W. Hambley....A.K.A. Myself-

I've done sort of like 4runnerman. I started with a 220 Swift and then got a 223. They worked great on coyotes, but then I started seeing more pigs than coyotes. I went to heavier bullets in the 223, but that wasn't enough 'medicine' for the long shots on big pigs. I finally just went to the next size rifle in the gun case, which is the 260, and it works great. If I'd had a 243, that would have been just as good. And if you have or get a 243, I suggest that you just use a deer load in it, so you have all the bases covered.

I think it depends on the kind of ranges you anticipate. The 223 is always a very good choice out to 200 yds or so. Up to 500 yds, you're probably better off with 243 win but I never could hit a woodchuck at that range. Fun to see the dust fly however.

223 Rem, 22-250 Rem, 17 Rem, or 204 Ruger. The 17 or 204 really do very little damage to the pelt, and are great for low recoil shooting. If you need or want a 22 cal, 223 is good out to 350-ish yds, 22-250 is great for longer shots but can damage pelts if you just blast indiscriminately. If you are considering using or selling the pelts, nothing larger than these.

I used a .22-250 for years and always used 55 Sierra Blitz bullets, but now the hot bullets like Hornady V-Max are probably even better.

In Maine, we have heavily-sodded fields that don't show misses with light varmint rounds very well. When we first started hunting woodchucks with 30-06s, as practice for deer hunting, we could easily spot misses, especially low shots, by the large cloud of earth thrown up.

With the .22-250, we needed to be more careful in determining range because if we missed, there would often be no dirt cloud. One day, we estimated the range to be farther than it was and probably overshot a standing chuck that was about 250 yards away. Two of us fired about 5 shots each and never touched it. Of course, that was before laser rangefinders were available.

Today, it's very hard to find woodchucks in fields here because there are too many people with great varmint rifles/ammo. About the only places their dens are exposed for long distances is along roadways and other places where most people can't shoot.

Bar none my favorite coyote cartridge is the .22-250. But then again I now shoot a .243..... Why? Cause I wanted the same gun for yotes and deer and that's about the only reason to step up IMO. So if you're lookin for just a varmint and yote gun go .22-250. Combo to include deer a .243.

I could use any of those mentioned so far, but until I own my own rifle, I'd have to borrow my daughter's Mark X, .243 win. I haven't developed a varmit round combo for this rifle as of yet, but it will come in time.
I'm saving to purchase a Mini-Mauser in .223. For Xmas Santa Claus is bring my daughter dies and bullets for her 25-06, 85 grain Ballistic Tips, so she'll have a varmit load worked up for that one.

This email link is to reach site administrators for assistance, if you cannot access TFL via other means. If you are a TFL member and can access TFL, please do not use this link; instead, use the forums (like Questions, Suggestions, and Tech Support) or PM an appropriate mod or admin.

If you are experiencing difficulties posting in the Buy/Sell/Trade subforums of TFL, please read the "sticky" announcement threads at the top of the applicable subforum. If you still feel you are qualified to post in those subforums, please contact "Shane Tuttle" (the mod for that portion of TFL) via Private Message for assistance.

This email contact address is not an "Ask the Firearms Expert" service. Such emails will be ignored. If you have a firearm related question, please register and post it on the forums.